the seed of certain leguminous plants cultivated for food all over the world, and furnished by three genera, Faba, Phaseolus, and Dolichos. The common bean, in all its varieties, as cultivated in this country and on the continents of Europe and America, is the produce of the Faba vulgaris. The French bean, kidney bean, or haricot, is the seed of the Phaseolus vulgaris; but in India several other species of this genus of plants are raised, and form no small portion of the diet of the inhabitants. From the genus Dolichos, again, the natives of India and South America procure beans or pulse, of no small importance as articles of diet, such as the D. ensiformis, or sword bean of India, the Lima beans, &c.; and two of the species D. bulbosus and tetragonolobus yield also tuberose roots, held in much estimation by the natives of India. These now form separate genera in modern botanical arrangements. The common bean is even more nutritious than wheat; containing 84 per cent. of nutritive matter, whereas wheat contains only 74 per cent. The principle use of beans is to feed horses, for which they are admirably adapted, as being far more nourishing than oats. In this country French beans are chiefly, almost exclusively, used in the green state, and the whole pod is eaten as a substitute for green peas. It is a wholesome and nutritious vegetable, and it is to be regretted that we do not follow the Dutch and Germans in preserving it for winter and spring use, when other green vegetables cannot be had. In Holland and Germany the pods of the French bean are preserved in salt by almost every family. The green pods are cut across obliquely, most generally by a machine invented for the purpose, and salted in barrels. In this state they keep the whole winter and spring. When wanted for use they are steeped in fresh water to remove the salt, and broiled or stewed, when they form an agreeable addition to the diet at a time when no other vegetable may be had. For the cultivation, &c., of the common bean, see Agriculture.

The ancients made use of beans in gathering the votes of the people, and for the election of magistrates. A white bean signified "absolution," and a black one "condemnation." Beans had a mysterious use in the lemuralia and parentalia, where the master of the family, after washing his hands three times, threw black beans over his head nine times, still repeating the words, "I redeem myself and family by these beans." Ovid gives a lively description of the whole ceremony. Abstinence from beans was enjoined by Pythagoras, one of whose symbols is ἀσύνετος ἄργυρος, abstineré a fábis. The Egyptian priests held it a crime to look at beans, judging the very sight unclean; and among the Romans the flamen dialis was not permitted even to mention the name. The precept of Pythagoras has been variously interpreted. Some understand it to imply forbearing to meddle in trials and verdicts; others, resting on the equivocé of the word ἀσύνετος, which signifies equally a bean and a human testicle, explain it by abstinence from venery. Clemens Alexandrinus grounds the prohibition against beans on their alleged quality of rendering women barren; and this is confirmed by Theophrastus, who asserts that some other plants have the same property. Cicero suggests another reason for this abstinence, namely, that beans are great enemies to tranquillity of mind. Hence Amphiarus is said to have abstained from beans, even before Pythagoras, that he might enjoy a clearer divination by dreams.

**Bean-Cod**, a small fishing vessel, or pilot-boat, common in Portugal. It is extremely sharp forward, having its stem bent above into a great curve inward, plated on the fore-side with iron, and fortified with bolts. It is commonly navigated with a large lateen sail.

**Bean-Fly**, in *Natural History*, a very beautiful fly, of a pale purple colour, frequently found on bean-flowers. It is produced from the maggot called *mida*.

**BEAR.** See MAMMALIA, Index.

**BEAR in Astronomy.** See URSA MAJOR, and ASTRONOMY.

**Order of the Bear** was a military order in Switzerland, instituted by the Emperor Frederick II. in 1213, by way of acknowledgment for the service the Swiss had done him, and in favour of the abbey of St Gall. To the collar of the order hung a medal, on which was represented a bear raised on an eminence of earth.

**Bear or Bere Island,** on the S.W. coast of Ireland, in Bantry Bay, is about six miles in length and one and a half broad. It lies twelve miles from Bantry, and is of a hilly and rugged aspect.

**Bear Lake, Great,** an extensive sheet of fresh water in the N.W. part of North America; between 65 and 67° N. Lat. and 117. and 123° W. Long. It is of a very irregular shape, and has an estimated area of 14,000 square miles. The Bear Lake River carries its waters into the Mackenzie River. It is upwards of 200 feet above the sea.

**BEARD,** the hair growing on the chin and adjacent parts of the adult male in the human subject.

Various have been the ceremonies and customs of nations in regard to the beard. The Tartars, from a religious principle, waged a long and bloody war with the Persians, declaring them infidels merely because they would not cut their whiskers after the fashion of Tartary; and we find that a considerable branch of the religion of the ancients consisted in the management of their beards. The Greeks wore their beards till the time of Alexander the Great; but that prince ordered the Macedonians to be shaved, lest the beard should afford a handle to their enemies. According to Varro and Pliny, the Romans did not begin to shave till the year B.C. 300, when P. Titinius Menas or Menas brought barbers from Sicily.

Consecration of the beard was a ceremony among the Roman youth, who, when shaved for the first time, on assuming the *toga virilis*, kept a day of rejoicing, and were particularly careful to put the hair of their beard into a box, of silver or gold, and make an offering of it to some god, particularly to Jupiter Capitolinus, as was done by Nero, according to Suetonius.

The fashion of the beard has varied in different ages and countries; some cultivating one part of it, some another. The Hebrews wear a beard on the chin, but not on the upper lip or cheeks. Moses forbids them to cut off entirely the angle or extremity of their beard; that is, to manage it after the Egyptian fashion, leaving only a little tuft of beard at the extremity of the chin; whereas the Jews to this day suffer a little fillet of hair to grow from the lower end of their ears to their chins, where, as well as on their lower lips, their beards are in a pretty long bunch. The Jews, in time of mourning, neglected to trim their beards or cut off the superfluous growth on the upper lips and cheeks. In time of grief and great affliction they also plucked out the hair of their beards.

Anointing the beard with unguents was an ancient practice both among the Jews and Romans, and still continues in use among the Turks. One of the principal ceremonies observed among the latter in various visits, is to throw sweet-scented water on the beard of the visitant.

The discipline of the church has varied in the matter of beards. Ecclesiastics have sometimes been enjoined to wear them, from a notion of there being too much effeminacy in shaving, and that a long beard was more suitable to the ecclesiastical gravity; and sometimes again they have been forbidden to do so, from an idea that pride lurked beneath a venerable beard. The Greek and Roman churches have long differed on this important subject. Since the time of their separation, the Romanists seem to have given more into the practice of shaving by way of opposition to the Greeks; and have even made some express constitutions de radendis barbis. The Greeks, on the contrary, espouse very zealously the cause of long beards, and are extremely scandalized at the beardless images of saints in the Roman churches. By the statutes of some monasteries, it appears that the lay-monks were to let their beards grow, and the priests were enjoined to shave; and that the beards of all who were received into the monasteries were blessed with a great deal of ceremony. There are still extant the prayers used in consecrating the beard to God when an ecclesiastic was shaven.

Le Comte observes that the Chinese affect long beards extravagantly; but nature has balked them by only giving them a scanty growth, which however they cultivate with infinite care. Chrysostom observes that the kings of Persia had their beards woven or matted together with gold thread. The sculptures brought from Nineveh by Layard show the extreme care of their beards by that ancient race; and some of the first kings of France had their beards knotted and buttoned with gold.

Among the Turks, it is more infamous for any one to have his beard cut off, than among us to be publicly whipt or branded with a hot iron. The Arabs make the preservation of their beards a capital point of religion, because Mahomet never cut his. Hence the razor is never drawn over the face of the Sultan; and the Persians, who clip their beards and shave above the jaw, are reputed downright heretics. The slaves who serve in the seraglio have their beards shaven as a sign of their servitude.

The most celebrated ancient writers, and also some of later times, have spoken honourably of the fine beards of antiquity. Homer commemorates the white beard of Nestor, and that of old King Priam. Virgil describes that of Mezentius, which was so thick and long as to cover all his breast; and Chrysippus praises the noble beard of Timotheus, a famous player on the flute. Pliny the younger tells us of the white beard of Euphrates, a Syrian philosopher; and he takes pleasure in relating the respect and awe with which it inspired the people. Plutarch speaks of the long white beard of an old Laconian who on being asked why he let it grow to such length, replied, "It is that having my white beard continually before my eyes, I may do nothing unworthy of its whiteness." Strabo relates that the Indian philosophers called gymnosophists were particularly attentive to have their beards of sufficient length to "captivate" the veneration of the people;—Diodorus gives a very circumstantial history of the beards of the Indians;—Juvenal does not forget that of Antilochus the son of Nestor;—Fenelon, in describing a priest of Apollo in all his magnificence, tells us that he had a white beard down to his girdle;—and Persius, convinced that a beard was the symbol of wisdom, thought he could not bestow a greater encomium on Socrates than by calling him the bearded master, Magistrum barbatum.

Whilst the Gauls were under the sway of their native sovereigns, none but the nobles and Christian priests were permitted to wear long beards. But the Franks, having made themselves masters of Gaul, assumed the same authority as the Romans; the bondmen were expressly commanded to shave their chins; and this law continued in force until the entire abolition of servitude in France. So, likewise, in the time of the first race of kings, a long beard was the sign of nobility and freedom; and the kings, as being the highest nobles in their kingdom, were emulous to display the largest beards. Egihard, secretary to Charlemagne, speaking of the last kings of the first race, says they came to the assemblies in the field of Mars in a carriage drawn by oxen, and sat on the throne with their hair dishevelled, and a very long beard, crine profusa, barba submissa, solio residente, ut speciem dominantis effingere.

To touch any one's beard, or cut off a bit of it, was, among the early French, the most sacred pledge of protection and confidence. For a long time all letters that came from the sovereign had, for greater sanction, three hairs of his beard in the seal; and there is still in being a charter of 1121 which concludes with the following words: Quod ut ratum et stabile perseceret in posterum, praesenti scripto sigilli mei robur apposui cum tribus pilis barbe mea.

Several great men received or adopted the surname of Bearded. The Emperor Constantine IV., is distinguished by the epithet of Pogonias—In the time of the Crusades, we find there was a Geoffrey the Bearded—Baldwin IV., Earl of Flanders, was surnamed Handsome-Beard—and, in the illustrious house of Montmorenci there was a famous Bouchard who took a pride in the surname of Bearded, and was always the declared enemy of the monks, doubtless because they were shavelings.

In the tenth century, we find that King Robert of France, the rival of Charles the Simple, was not more famous for his exploits than for his long white beard. In order that it might be more conspicuous to the soldiers when he was in the field, he used to let it hang down outside his cuirass; and this venerable sight encouraged the troops in battle, and served to rally them when defeated. A celebrated painter in Germany, called John Mayo, had so large a beard that he was nicknamed John the Bearded. He wore it fastened to his girdle; and though he was a very tall man, it hung upon the ground when he stood upright. John would sometimes untie it in the presence of the Emperor Charles V., who took great pleasure in seeing the wind make it fly against the faces of the lords of his court. In England, the chancellor Sir Thomas More, one of the greatest men of his time, was able, when on the fatal scaffold, to procure respect for his beard, and saved it by a pleasantry. When he had laid his head on the block, he drew his beard aside, observing, "My beard has not been guilty of treason; it would be an injustice to punish it."

Every one has admired on medallions and in portraits the beard of the renowned Henry IV., of France, "which gave to the countenance of that prince a majestic dignity, and which ought to serve as a model for that of every great king, as the beard of his illustrious minister should for that of every statesman." But there is little dependence on the stability of the things of this world. By an event equally fatal and unforeseen, the beard, which had arrived at its highest degree of glory, all of a sudden lost its favour, and was at length entirely proscribed. The unexpected death of Henry the Great, and the youth of his successor, were the sole causes of this revolution. Louis XIII. mounted the throne of his glorious ancestors without a beard. Every one concluded immediately that the courtiers, seeing their young king with a smooth chin, would look upon their own as too rough; and the conjecture proved correct. They presently reduced their beards to whiskers, and a small tuft of hair under the nether lip. But the people at first refused to follow this dangerous example. The Duke of Sully also persisted in clinging to his beard. This man, great as a general and a minister, was likewise so in his retirement, and had the courage to keep his long beard, nay, to appear with it at the court of Louis XIII., when called thither to give his advice in an affair of importance. The young smooth-shaven courtiers laughed outright at the grave look and old-fashioned appearance of the venerable minister; on which the latter, probably jealous of the honour of his beard, observed to the king, "Sir, when your father, of glorious memory, did me the honour to consult me on his great and important affairs, the first thing he did was to send away all the buffoons and stage-dancers of his court."

The Czar Peter had the boldness to impose a tax on the produce of his subjects' chins. He ordered that the noblemen and gentlemen, tradesmen and artisans, should pay a hundred rubles for the privilege of retaining their beards, and that the lower class of people should pay a copeck for the same liberty; and he established clerks at the gates of the different towns to collect these duties. Such a new and singular impost troubled the vast empire of Muscovy, and both religion and manners were thought in imminent danger. But Peter was inflexible, and shaving began in good earnest; the Russians very generally coming to the conclusion that it was better to cut off their beards than to give serious offence to a man who had the power of cutting off their heads.

Example, more powerful than authority, produced in Spain what the Czar Peter had not accomplished in Russia without great difficulty. Philip V. ascended the throne with a shaven chin. The courtiers imitated the prince, and the people in turn imitated the courtiers. This revolution however, although brought about gradually, and without violence, caused much lamentation and murmuring; the gravity of the Spaniards lost by the change, and they said, Desde que no hay barba, no hay mas atura; "since we have lost our beards, we have lost our souls." In fact, among those European nations which have been most curious in beards and whiskers, we must distinguish Spain. This grave romantic people has always regarded the beard as an ornament which ought to be peculiarly prized, and indeed has often made the loss of honour consist in that of their whiskers. Nor have the Portuguese, whose national character is much the same, been behind them in this respect. In the reign of Catherine queen of Portugal, the brave John de Castro had taken the castle of Diu in India. Victorious, but in want of everything, he found himself obliged to ask the inhabitants of Goa to lend him a thousand pistoles for the maintenance of his fleet; and as a security for that sum he sent them one of his whiskers, telling them—"All the gold in the world cannot equal the value of this natural ornament of my valour; and I deposit it in your hands as a security for the money." The whole town was penetrated with his heroism, and every one interested himself about this invaluable whisker; even the women were desirous to give marks of their zeal for so brave a man; several sold their bracelets to increase the sum asked for; and the inhabitants of Goa sent him immediately both the money and his whisker.

In Louis XIII.'s reign, whiskers (moustaches) attained the highest degree of favour, at the expense of the expiring Bearing, beards. In those days of gallantry, not yet empoisoned by wit, they became the favourite occupation of lovers. A fine black mustachio, elegantly turned up, was a very powerful recommendation to the favour of the fair sex. They were still in fashion in the beginning of Louis XIV.'s reign; and this king, with all the great men of his time, took a pride in wearing them. They were consequently the ornament of Turenne, Condé, Colbert, Corneille, Molière, &c.

It was then no uncommon thing for a favourite lover to have his moustaches turned up, combed, and dressed by his mistress; and hence a man of fashion took care to be always provided with every little necessary article, especially whisker-wax. It was highly flattering to a lady to have it in her power to praise the beauty of her lover's moustaches, which, far from being disagreeable, gave his person an air of vivacity; and several even thought them an incitement to love. But the levity of the French caused several changes both in their form and name; there were Spanish, Turkish, guard-dagger whiskers, nay, even royal ones, which were the last worn; the smallness of these proclaiming their approaching fall.

Kissing the Beard. The Turkish wives kiss their husbands' beards, and children their fathers', as often as they come to salute them. The men kiss one another's beards reciprocally on both sides when they salute in the streets, or return from a journey.

Bearded Women. Of these there have been several remarkable instances. In the cabinet of curiosities of Stuttgart in Germany, there is the portrait of a woman called Bartel Graetje, whose chin is covered with a very large beard. Her portrait was painted in 1587, at which time she was only twenty-five years of age. It is said that the Duke of Saxony had the portrait taken of a poor Swiss woman, remarkable for her long bushy beard; and those who attended the carnival at Venice in 1726 saw a female dancer astonish the spectators not more by her talents than by her chin covered with a black bushy beard. Charles XII. had in his army a female grenadier, who had both the beard and courage of a man. She was taken prisoner at the battle of Pultowa, and carried to Petersburg, where she was presented to the Czar in 1724; her beard measured a yard and a half. A woman was once seen at Paris who had not only a bushy beard on her face, but her body likewise covered all over with hair. Amongst a number of examples of this nature, that of Margaret, the Governess of the Netherlands, is very remarkable. She had a very long stiff beard, on which she prided herself; and being persuaded that it contributed to give her an air of majesty, she took care not to lose a single hair of it. The Lombard women, it is said, when they went to war, made themselves beards with the hair of their heads, which they ingeniously arranged on their cheeks, in order that the enemy might take them for men.

Beards of a Comet, the rays which the comet emits towards that part of the heavens to which its proper motion seems to direct it, is distinguished from the tail, which denotes the rays emitted towards that part from which its motion appears to carry it.